Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho Responds to Media Manipulation Charge

3-stars respond to allegations of media manipulation
Army Times
By Kevin Lilley, Staff writer
October 1, 2015

"The primary purpose of the FOIA act is to find out what the government is up to,” Hodes said. “Nowhere does it say the government should be spinning what they’re up to. … The facts speak for themselves.”

The three-star generals at the center of a recent New York Times piece that alleges the service attempted to manipulate media coverage of medical issues have taken issue with the reporting — specifically, the Army's reporting.

In statements to the newspaper and to Army Times, both Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, the Army's surgeon general, and Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, found fault with the Army-produced executive summary of their Sept. 17 meeting at the Pentagon. That summary was leaked to The New York Times, which quoted from the material in its Tuesday report.

Per the summary, Horoho recommended that Caslen not provide the newspaper with West Point concussion statistics requested under the Freedom of Information Act until her office published a related article that would include some of the data. She relayed an account of a prior media FOIA request where coverage was softened by a media event days before the data release.

"Timing is everything with this stuff," the summary reads.

Through a spokesman, Horoho denied ever advising anyone to delay the FOIA request. Caslen, in a statement initially provided to The New York Times and excerpted in the initial report, said "a member of my staff inaccurately portrayed my discussion with Lt. Gen. Horoho" and took responsibility for allowing the document to be "distributed without my review." read more here

Report Alleges Army Surgeon General Tried to Cover Up Concussion Data

Citizen Journalist and Reporters need protection

Federal law needed to protect public's right to know
Florida Times Union
Mon, Feb 3, 2014

The bill also would expand the definition of journalist to account for today’s citizen journalists if a judge approves it.

When The Washington Post exposed the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Hospital for America’s injured military people, Robert Gates was shocked. The Defense secretary at the time found out about the inexcusable conditions in the newspaper.

He fired those responsible, set aside those who offered excuses and made it a personal priority to put the injured military men and women first.

We don’t know where the newspaper’s investigative reporters obtained their information.

Most likely it came from anonymous sources — tips. Careers could be on the line if their names were known.

It’s important that the source of those tips be protected in fact and in public perception; otherwise an important safeguard for America’s democracy will be lost.

That is why a qualified reporter’s privilege needs to pass U.S. Senate.

The key word is “qualified.” Nobody is asking for total privilege for the news media. But it is reasonable that the federal government offer the same sort of reasonable and respectful privilege to the news media that exists in Florida and most of the states.
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Agency Delays $765 Million in Spending for U.S. Veterans’ Care?

Agency Delays $765 Million in Spending for U.S. Veterans’ Care
Bloomberg Business Week
By Kathleen Miller
May 13, 2013

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs postponed purchases of cardiac monitors, radiological equipment and pain-medication pumps for patients last year. It didn’t replace old surgical tools, oxygen-delivery systems or deteriorating operating-room stretchers.

In all, the agency delayed more than $765 million it was authorized to spend, affecting veterans’ medical care in some cases, according to VA documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act.

The department, criticized by veterans for claims backlogs and bottlenecks in mental-health care, transferred the money into a holding account. It was the biggest amount deferred in at least 10 years and more than eight times the amount shifted to the fund two years earlier, the records show.
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VA Releases more that 2,200 Vets' Personal Info on Ancestry.com

VA Accidentally Releases Vets' Personal Info


January 21, 2012
Stars and Stripes|by Leo Shane III
WASHINGTON -- More than 2,200 veterans had their personal information accidentally posted on the genealogy website Ancestry.com last year, a move that could potentially expose them to identify theft crimes.

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs said all of the veterans affected by the mistake will receive free credit monitoring services to help mitigate any damage. The information posted online included veterans’ names and Social Security numbers, but not any health information.

The department said there is no evidence so far that any of the personal information has been misused, but the agency is contacting all of the individuals involved to ensure they are aware of the problem.
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Veterans exposed to incorrect drug doses

Just keeps getting worse and worse for our veterans at the same time they tell us they are finally getting things right.

Veterans exposed to incorrect drug doses
San Diego Union Tribune -
San Diego,CA,USA
By HOPE YEN, The Associated Press 11:37 a.m. January 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee demanded Wednesday that the VA explain how it allowed software glitches to put the medical care of patients at its health centers nationwide at risk.
"I am deeply concerned about the consequences on patient care that could have resulted from this 'software glitch' and that mistakes were not disclosed to patients who were directly affected," said Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. "I have asked VA for a forensic analysis of all pertinent records to determine if any veterans were harmed, and I would like to know who was responsible for the testing and authorized the release of the new application."
Patients at VA health centers were given incorrect doses of drugs, had needed treatments delayed and may have been exposed to other medical errors due to the glitches that showed faulty displays of their electronic health records, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
The glitches, which began in August and lingered until last month, were not disclosed to patients by the VA even though they sometimes involved prolonged infusions for drugs such as blood-thinning heparin, which can be life-threatening in excessive doses.
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So much for public's right to know

Published: March 23, 2008 6:00 a.m.
So much for public's right to know
Commentary by Sylvia A. Smith
Washington editor

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration wants to pick and choose what you are permitted to know when it comes to spending your tax dollars.

A brash, sweeping statement? You bet. True? Sadly, yes.

How else to explain the White House’s continued acceptance of a 2001 memo written by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft telling federal agencies to withhold documents whenever they could – and that the Justice Department would defend them in court.

This is a sharp contrast to the Clinton-era standard. During that administration, federal documents were censored only when their publication would result in real harm.

If you need any convincing, consider the fragments of a report I received from the Veterans Administration last week.

You spent $530,000 for a 78-page assessment of the recommendation to close the outpatient services at the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center and direct veterans to Indianapolis for their care.

But you will never see the consultant’s recommendations or the information used to reach those suggestions.

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